Online harassment during COVID-19: a cross-sectional analysis across 10 countries from the I-SHARE consortium

Abstract

Abstract Aim This study, wave 2 of the International Sexual Health and Reproductive Health (I-SHARE) study, aims to explore the prevalence and correlates of online harassment in 10 countries including low- and middle-income countries. Subject and methods Data were collected through the I-SHARE-2 survey from March 2021 to July 2022, in 10 countries (N = 2860) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Overall, 30% of participants reported that they believed online harassment was happening more frequently than before COVID-19; 20% of participants reported having received unsolicited advances, 17% reported having received unsolicited obscene images or videos, and 7% reported that someone had shared a photo or video of them doing something humiliating or embarrassing without permission. This perceived increase in online harassment during the pandemic was potentially due to more online behavior amid lockdowns. A mixed-effects logistic regression revealed that people identifying as gender/sexual minority, people with worse economic situations, and people living in a country with lower gender inequality had higher odds of experiencing online harassment. Conclusion These results align with prior research, emphasizing the vulnerability of minorities to online harassment. Our study findings have implications for the development of interventions to decrease online harassment.